The bicycle has now been around for over a hundred years and has
served as the survival transportation for millions of people throughout the
world. While riding a bike is not convenient as driving or riding a motor
vehicle for equal distances, it may be your best alternative to walking or the expense
of using a motor vehicle.

The following is an article written for savvysurvivor by a bike
enthusiast. It makes a good introduction to the subject for a survivor.

Bicycles as Alternative Transportation

By Light Dragoon

Late in the last century, the bicycle evolved into the basic
design which we recognize today. It quickly was adopted by the people of the
industrialized world who were in need of transportation, yet who could not
afford the means to keep a horse and buggy at hand, meaning about 90% of the
urban population at the time. Just as quickly it was integrated into the popular
culture: we still can remember the song "Bicycle Built for Two". The
bicycle was in many ways the perfect vehicle for the less affluent, in that it
was reasonably inexpensive, easy to use, reliable and cost very little to keep
in good repair. More over, when you were done with it, you could park it and
leave it there, something which you cannot do with a horse, at least not more
than once. In many ways it was the bicycle which began Americanís love of
tinkering with machines. Remember that Orville and Wilbur Wright were bicycle
mechanics before they were aeronautical engineers.

The soldiers of the world were also quick to take an interest
in the military applications of the bicycle. Throughout Europe, units of both
volunteers and regulars were formed with the bicycle as their primary mode of
transportation. By World War One, the bicycle was well established as a military
vehicle, though the conditions of the Western Front rapidly reduced bicyclists,
like their cavalry counterparts, to the role of messengers. In the United
States, experiments were conducted in the 1890ís with soldiers from the 25th
(Colored) Infantry riding bicycles from Ft. Missoula, Montana to St. Louis,
Missouri, proving that despite the poor quality of the almost non-existent
roads, it could be done. Click
here for more details on Bicycle infantry in US history . In the inter-war
years, further use of bicycle troops were made in Europe, though the whole idea
was pretty much dropped in the United States due to the twin, but conflicting
love affairs developing in the Army: The horse and the internal combustion
engine. Add to that the enormous distances in the US, there was just not much
interest.

WWII saw a resurgence in the use of the bicycle by civilians
in both Europe and the United States due to the shortages of petroleum and
rubber, and the Japanese Army made spectacular use of bicycle infantry to flank
Singapore in early 1942, allowing the capture of that city with very little
effort. But with the end of the war and rationing, people turned to the
automobile with a will. The post-war economic boom added to the process, and
only now, 50 years later, is there a re-emergence of interest in the bicycle,
mostly as an object for amusement rather than as a major form of transportation.
However, in the developing world, it was quite different.

Anyone who has seen films of Shanghai, or Saigon has
witnessed the wild melee of rush-hour on bicycles. The Third World still is
enthralled with the bicycle, for the same reasons our own ancestors were a
century ago. They are reasonably cheap, easy to use, easy to maintain, and
furthermore, after initial manufacture, and the replacement of tires, they use
no fossil fuels. The only energy required is the sweat of the operator. This
also is a major attraction for the other major users of today in the US (after
the hobbyists): the urban poor and even the homeless. Kids too are major users
in the US and elsewhere, and there are still plenty of commuters in the US and
Europe who, like their Asian counterparts, ride their bikes to work on a daily
basis.

There is still even some
military interest. Recent articles have been written promoting the use of
various types of bicycle for units of the US Army, Click
here for details and the Swiss maintain bicycle units in their citizen army
(Swiss military web site). But the most impressive military use of the
bicycle was not in these venues, it was in the war in French Indo-China between
the forces of the Union of France and the Viet Minh. Pushed to the brink by the
forces of General Vo Nguyen Giap, the French were besieged at Dien
Bien Phu, (more
info here) deep in the mountains of northern Viet Nam, where it was assumed
that the Viet Minh could only bring small arms and mortars to bear due to the
remoteness of the outpost. With superhuman effort, the Viet Minh were able to
transport an entire REGIMENT of artillery to the hills surrounding the French
bastion, and bring it under constant fire. Not only did they bring the guns over
jungle tracks, but they supplied them with sufficient shells, and did it all
with bicycles and horses. It was concluded that each man could carry upwards of
300 pounds of equipment on his bicycle, and still be able to push it through the
jungle tracks for 8 or more hours a day.

Now to fast forward to our own day and age. We are a society
obsessed with the automobile, and there is very little frank discussion of
viable alternatives to either driving or walking to a "retreat" in the
event of a major disturbance. This is very much a foolish oversight, for almost
everyone in his youth rode a bike, and most folks have a bike just sitting in
the garage, while they are worrying about how to pare down their
"Bug-out-Bag" to a manageable, man-portable weight.

In the scenarios positied by Savvy Survivor, we are happily
enjoying our lives with ample fuel, food and shelter, some of us concerned about
the possibilities of devolution in the social structure, but most people
blithely going about their business as usual. Some folk, however, may well
already be in the "Scenario One" mode, living hand to mouth with
little in the way of food, fuel or shelter. These people are already using bikes
as a part of their every day life-style. If, as is entirely possible, there are
major energy shortages this summer, many people will be moved to dust off their
old bike and begin to use it for much of their daily transport needs. As things
degenerate, more and more use of bicycles will become evident.

One of the main uses which I see for bikes is not so much as
a means of rapid and comfortable transportation, but as a method of moving a
great deal of weight over long distances in a reasonable amount of time. Most
people, when faced with a "Bug-Out" situation, will be hard pressed to
carry much more that 60 pounds of gear on their backs. This must include food,
water, shelter and any weapons and ammunition they intend to bring with them.
Many folks will have pre-positioned some of their needed goods at their retreat,
but still, with a pack of that size, you are going to be slow and awkward at
best. Consider the concept pioneered by the Viet Minh. If you stow your pack and
other equipment on your bike, you are not only relieved of a tremendous burden,
but you can now actually increase your load! I wouldnít recommend packing 300
pounds of gear on it, but still, you are now reducing your personal load to your
weapons, ammunition and some emergency gear, while the heavy and bulky items are
now being pushed by you, not carried.

There are many items available to the consumer today to fit
out a bicycle to almost any taste imaginable. I would tend to go with the more
traditional styles, more out of the issue of robustness than anything else.
There are plenty to chose from, though, in any event. One could even pick up a
Airborne folding bike, (www.airportshoppe.com/paratrooper_bike.html ) to
carry in your vehicle, as part of your mobile BoB . (Plus, you can experiment
with packs, modify them to your heartís content, and find a system that
actually works for you. Set it up to push, or ride. There are also small
trailers available to carry all of your gear, so you donít have to make a real
choice between having lots of stuff and pushing, or being able to ride at the
expense of gear. Plenty to look at, plenty to boy or make, should you wish to.

The German Infantry of early WWII was expected to be able to
march 50 kilometers per day with a full field pack. On our own Western
migration, a wagon train was expected to average 20-25 miles per day. If you are
traveling at a fairly average speed of 3 miles per hour, then it is going to
take you some 8 hours of constant walking to get 24 miles. Consider the
difference between packing the weight of your pack for 8+ hours per day, and
pushing your bike the same distance. Quite a difference. If you are using the
trailer method, you can move at almost the speed of a motor vehicle on rough
roads, with a good percentage of the capacity. 90 to 100 miles per day would not
be out of the question at all, and for people in shape, more than that would be
reasonable.

For a post-collapse situation, the possession of a bicycle
would be absolutely critical. If there were only limited cases of violence, and
day-to-day life was kept up to some degree, then the bike would be crucial for
going to market, work, and any other travel needed. Without a ready supply of
fossil fuels, or in the event of their being priced out of reach, it would
devolve to three choices. Walk, Ride a horse, or ride a bike. Walking, while
available to most at a modest cost, is very time intensive. Horses require a
whole host of other skills and needs not available to everyone, though a
perfectly reasonable alternative to the other systems. Bicycles are cheaper that
horses, much faster than feet, and readily available (now). Plus, they are
fairly all-terrain. Just donít try to ride in the sand.

The bike is in many ways the optimum solution for all of
the reasons which the Environmentalists preach, plus for the reasons the Viet
Minh used them. Cheap, reliable, no fossil fuels, reasonably fast, carry a good
deal of weight when properly slung, and they can be used in the most God
Forsaken paces on the planet, without undue difficulty (well, without enormous
difficulty). Something to ponder while considering the future.